Bobcat population growth needs to continue

Published 2:49 pm, Thursday, June 4, 2015

There is the challenge of sportsmanship involved with spending hours braving the elements of nature to go up against an animal in its natural environment.

They also provide food for families and pumps millions of dollars into the economy, especially in this area, where Pike County is consistently among the top deer hunting locations in Illinois.

Without carefully controlled hunting seasons, many species would proliferate to the point they would present a nuisance at best and a danger at worst. Consider the millions of dollars of damage deer inflict, both to land and to vehicles unfortunate enough to cross their path. Hundreds of people are killed each year and about $1 billion in vehicle damage is reported annually.

Would such controlled hunts be as beneficial for other animals, though? In particular bobcats, which could have been on the target list for the first time in more than 40 years had it not been for one of former Gov. Pat Quinn’s final acts in office?

Probably not, and Quinn chose the best approach by choosing to veto House Bill 4226.

Although the time might come to allow people to hunt native Illinois bobcats, which are so named because of the stubby bobbed tails and their prominent ears.

Not just yet, though.

The sponsors of the bill, which passed both the House and the Senate, see it as a proactive response to increased sightings of the animals — about twice the size of a typical house cat — in west-central Illinois and elsewhere in the state.

It’s worth hanging on to and dusting off, but let’s wait a few years.

For now, the focus needs to be with protecting the state’s wildlife.

“Habitat loss and trophy hunting put bobcats on the threatened species list in 1977, and it was only recently that the bobcat population recovered enough to be removed from this list,” Quinn said. “I [vetoed] this bill because bobcats are a valuable part of Illinois’ ecosystem and continue to need protection.”

They are beneficial from the standpoint of eating small rodents, although they also eat rabbits, squirrels and some birds. They don’t eat people or large livestock. They are nocturnal, relatively reclusive animals. Hunters can get up to $100 or more for some, but there is no market or use for bobcat meat.

Bobcat hunting was stopped in 1972 because the population dropped significantly. In 1977, the bobcat was placed on the threatened species list.

Now its population is growing by 4 to 9 percent a year. Bobcats have been seen in 17 of the state’s 102 counties.

It is not the time to backtrack the success that has been seen naturally.

Needless over-hunting of the bobcat created a situation that took decades to rebound. It’s worth taking the time now to ensure it doesn’t happen again.